ATTENTION Black Lightning owners!!
 

I have been washing my truck every week(give or take), and I noticed that water spots:mad: are on my truck everytime I finish(duh, you bought BLACK). How can I keep from waxing this thing everytime I wash it to get rid of the spots?? I have tried every kind of towel and those leave water streaks!!!!!!! and they do the same thing the spots do. Wax seems to be the only way I have seen to really get rig of the streaks and spots. I would love to hear of any alternative way to get rid of the spots and streaks!!

Re: ATTENTION Black Lightning owners!!
 

Have it painted red, white or silver.

Spike

Do you wash your truck in the sun? If so, don't. I use a quick detailer after every wash; and this seems to take care of any streaks or spots.

I have an HD special so I know the trouble with black. I have a full house water softener system and I've added an outside outlet for washing cars to help reduce the problem. It also help if I wash in the morning or late at night so the drops don't have a chance to dry on the paint. After washing I go over my truck with a leaf blower to take most of the water off, then chamois. Last thing is a shot of Miracle Mist (detailer). This stuff also contains a liquid type wax and does a great job of giving it that last little bit of shine. I think the most critical things are to use soft water and not to let any of the water dry on the paint (wash in morning or late evening).

I use a California water blade and wipe the excess with a soft cloth.

Towels actually leave scratches, the blade doesn't.

You can dry the whole truck in 3 minutes. No time for waterspots to form. Even in Florida...

Maguires makes the best mist spray, IMO.

My Lexus IS300 is black, this scenario works well there too...

Same thing as Tampa...California Water Blade followed up with Meguiars Quick Detailer (spray on, wipe with one towel, dry with another). I used to hate my black L until I figured this out...

I just take mine down to my friendly neighborhood mex........, ah never mind:rolleyes:

I have yet to try one of those Water Blades, i keep thinking it will leave lines
(like a window squeegie sp?).

FRITZ, Stock Silver 2001 "L"

I wash, then blade, then leaf blow, then if needed use a detailer product, like McGuiers or Z06. :)

Daniel

MRBBQMAN -- I remember last time you said that...

lrutt -- The leaf blower might be a good idea. I was trying to figure out a way to get the big water spots off, instead of driving up and down my street at 50+.

My suggestion is to keep it in the shade. I have a garage for detailing, and a carport for washing. (Nice little setup, 5 car storage). I was in carport, then put in garage and touch up. I use the Zaino spray for waterspots.

Colin

MRBBQMAN

:eek:

I am in the same sort of situation with my Black L... Drives me crazy sometimes...

I actually bought an in-line water filter, and wash/wax at my girlfriends place (better water, nice awning to work under).

I found alot of good tips at this site:

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/index.html

I always thought the California Water blades would hurt/sratch the paint... even though though the packaging says it won't... I've been using the leaf-blower and chamois, but if you all think the water blade is safe, maybe i'll give it a shot...

Ditto on the Calif. water blade, followed by Zaino Z-6 ULTRA CLEAN "GLOSS ENHANCER" SPRAY. No spots, streaks etc..mile deep shine..

The California water blade will not leave scratches or streaks... I've been using mine for nearly 2 years now.

As some of you know, my L isn't a daily driver. It was built for shows only and maybe a rare jaunt on the weekends.

I wouldn't use anything else but the blade.

(funnystory: I stood and watched my brother wipe down almost all of his new black Tahoe with a towel and then asked him if he wanted to borrow my blade.... He's hooked now too).

Rich

Shade to wash,dry with chamois

NEVER wash it while the engine is still hot or if it has been in the sun at all. Always wash it in the shade and when the surface of the truck is cool. Otherwise it will spot before you have time to dry it off. I also use a leaf blower to blow the water off the surface and the nook and crannies. It also helps with the leaf blower if you have a nice coat of wax on your truck,that way the water just flies off when hit with the leaf blower. I use cherry wet wax or the wax shops "super glaze". Neither of these wax's will streak your black truck or leave that white powdery residue that others leave behind! Like TAMPASVT,mine is not a daily driver. It spends most of its life covered up in the garage. Hope this helps ya out.

Thanks for all the advice, I am contemplating what my next move will be. I live in a apartment complex so it is kinda hard to do any detailing. I usually go to those car wash places with the high pressure water, but I NEVER use the high setting and bring a bucket and sponge with me. I will check out that blade at the store at let everyone know how it worked. I also have another BIG problem. I have the tiny swirl scrathes from me not taking care of the paint(probably from the towels) and I was wondering if cherry wet wax or Zaino will take them out. I know everybody can yell at me later!!!!!!Thanks for all the ideas!!

If you don't have a garage (like myself :( ), I would highly recomend trying Cherry Wet Wax. It really cleaned up some of the swirl marks and tiny scratches that I have. Suprised me. Could not be any easier to use, and you can do the entire truck rather quickly. The only thing I noticed so far is that the shine has deminished somewhat after just one exposure to the rain; however, I had only put one coat on. Still, with the ease of use, it shouldn't be too difficult keeping up the shine even being exposed to the elements. I figure with frequent washes follwed with a good drying and some detail mist, I should be able to keep up with it pretty well.

One trick I use is to take the nozzle off of the water hose and run the water straight out of the hose, letting it sheet off the paint. This usually leaves only a few drops of water that I have to dry off. I think I might try one of those Water Blades though. What is the best place to get one?

I just ordered one from California car cover. www.calcarcover.com $20.00

FRITZ, Stock Silver 2001 "L"

I wash the L with some turtle wax soap hooya, rinse, let is sit for about 10 minutes and then go over it with the absorber, and then... uh.. sorry.. mine's white.

2_FAST4U, BrianK likes Coronas. What's your preference.

Sup shorty,

Coronas for me too, and plenty of lime...LOL. I will wash it over your house tomorrow....LOL. I got water streaks so bad I don't want to even drive it:( I'll see ya tomorrow!!!!

The water blades are readily available at Pepboys, which is where I picked mine up from... I'll never use a chamois again...

Same as the others, California water blade. Only don't turn the handle to low as it is hard plastic and will scratch the hell out of your beautiful water spotted black paint. Really does a good job though, then wipe any wet spot with cotton towel.---Jim

I don't have a garage either, but do use the water blade. It is the quickest way to remove water before it can dry. You can pick one up at Walmarts. I got mine on clearance for $12.

California Water Blade
 

Found 'em at Kmart for $2 on clearance. For that price, I bought a few of them. It works great!!


Now on to the leaf blower!!! :)

Amazing how we think alike. The neighbors think I'm crazy for using the gas leaf blower on it, but screw them.

What I did was buy a pressure sprayer at Sam's which knocks the rough dirt/dust off the paint before touching it and keeps the frame, underbody and wheel wells spotless. Then I wash the truck and continually wet the washed areas so they don't dry. (Even in evening shade) When I'm done washing, I spray it again to remove any chance of grit. Then comes the leaf blower for nooks and crannies, and then comes the water blade. Any remaining water is gently soaked up with a Cannon 100% face towel. BTW, that Water Blade can really scratch if the handle flips down onto the paint. I covered my handle with duct tape - problem solved.

And yes, a hot engine is bad. Raise the hood to cool the engine before washing. I shouldn't have to say what the sun does.....:eek:

:D Boy oh Boy there is alot of different ways to wash. A common technique I learned from Mustang Monthly was to apply wax in a circular motion one panel at a time and remove in a straight line motion immediately before the wax completely dries. The theory being that all you are removing is excess wax on the first pass. It is also supposed to avoid swirling which it does. Started doing this on my black '92 5.0 and also on my '99 Superduty which also was black. They always looked good in the sun. I also then use the flooding method as mentioned earlier (take the nozzle off the hose). If there is good wax on the vehicle the water will just flow off and you are left with hardly any remaining water. I could dry the Superduty off with one really soft cotton towel. I also never wash in the sun.

I use Dri-Wash 'n Gaurd, takes about 20 min start to finish and you dont use any water or bucket or sponge or chammi or wax applicator or hose or spray nozel. Just two terry cloth towels and the product. This stuff is great. Does not scratch or make big mess. if anyone in tampa wants a 30 second demo, Just e-mail me.
jreale@gte.net

I used all other products out there. nothing works like this stuff.
when I say I used all other products I mean it. Spent like $1000.00 on anything that anyone said would clean black without scratching and nothing worked like this stuff.

Not only that I can clean anywhere with this product. cause I dont need water and all the other things to do with cleaning.

shoot works on windows too. works like rain x and does not leave the film like wax does. one less thing to have to buy and carry around.

One other thing repells dirt so it does not look dirty soon after cleaning

one bad thing......What will you do with the extra time now that you DON"T have too get hose out, fill the bucket, wash, then dry, then polish and then wax. Then have to put everything away. What will you do with all that extra time.

Better late then never. I have a 1990 ZX750R Ninja it is black & red. I've had TONS of commits on it. It still looks SHOW ROOM NEW, very few scatches. I use a auto car wash, SOAP has NEVER EVER been used on my bike, except the wheels. I use the high pressure rinse only, I use it like a knife to cut the bugs off the best I can, then I use the spot free rinse and hold it about 2inch from surface to wash off the hard water. I then use a very soft towel I have just for the body work only. (it never goes below the grim line, I use another towel for down low) Then I go home and use a HOT towel (put a towel under hot water, be very careful not to burn your hands :) ), then I lay it on the bike for about 5 to 10 minutes and wipe it dry. No bugs and no water spots. And yes I wait for the bike to cool off, about 15 to 20 mintues before wash it once I get into the bay. I just got new picture of the bike, I'll try to post one soon.

GOOD LUCK

Seems like the rubber blade would scratch more that a 100% cotton towel made in USA. dunno.

My new 2001 Jetta is pain in the a$$ to keep clean as well, dark blue. That's why I bought a red Lightning, drying a big truck like ours without spots on a black is very difficult. IMO nothing beats a good chamois to dry my L or Jetta with very little water spots.

another vote for the Cali Water Blade.. it rocks

btw, the blade is medical grade silicone, wtf ever that is. No scratches yet. Got mine at wally world for 20bux

I think the zaino is going to take care of most of my problems, but then I have pecan tree sap to contend with :(

Black truck = wash weekly (even though it needs it daily!

My immaculately clean SCrew is 4 months old, and gets 2 baths and Zaino each week. What ever method you use (blade or chamios) use common sense, don't wipe a dirty finish. That'll keep new scratches to a minimum.
I have a rather heavy amount of water spotting on my hood that will not buff (by hand) out. These spots are actually etched clearcoat. Take a strong magnifying glass and check them out on your truck.
Lot's of Z5 and Z2 helps but they are still there.

Yet another vote for the California Water Blade and Z6.. I do keep a soft towel handy for the water that likes to drip out from under the mirrors/bed mldgs.

It's true you _can_ do the whole truck in 3 minutes with a blade...well, unless you run out of beer in the middle <g>.

I got the blade and I like it a lot, but I noticed that it doesn't conform to those hard contours to good, like at the top of the doors and top of the bed. I had to move the blade downward to get all the water. I am very pleased with the job it did though!!!

My California Water Blade left a big 2 foot long scratch metal deep on the hood of my F-150 the first time I used it on the truck.

Since then I refuse to use it except for windows, and will sell it extremely cheap if anyone is interested.

I find a chamois much better, water blade doesn't work well with trim and around the edges.

If you keep the blade clean there shouldn't be a problem with it. I rinse mine REAL well before using it and it does a great job.

The water blade is not made of rubber and IT will not scratch your truck..either something wqs left on the hood or the blade had something on it..I've used mine on 2 reuck over 2 years and have had no problems..